Eyewitnesses have spoken out concerning the fire outbreak at a section of the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport in Owerri, Imo State.
Reports say the fire started at around 2pm and lasted for 30 minutes without claiming any life.
The General Manager Corporate Affairs of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Henrietta Yakubu, said the fire was “curtailed swiftly” after officers of the Aerodrome Rescue and Fire Fighting Services Department of FAAN were deployed.
Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha told reporters: “I have just heard that the Imo Airport is on fire. I don’t know the cause. I am going there now.”
A travel agent, Kenneth, who witnessed the incident said: “I was at the car park when it all started, with people running away from the scene. It was, first, the smoke coming out and then fire. It all happened so quickly. The fire was quite serious. It was beyond what the workers could handle. So, people had to watch helplessly until the firefighters came, almost an hour after it started.”
Also, a shop owner at the airport, Miss Chinyere Eche, stated that ongoing renovation at the arrival section was razed by the fire.
“Nobody could say the immediate cause of the fire, though some said it could be a problem with electrical connection. There was damage but it could have been much but for the speedy intervention of the men of the fire service and other individuals.”